Construal level has been found to be a powerful predictor of various organizational phenomena. However, less research attention has been paid to understanding how construal level influences employees’ job performance. Based on the construal level theory, we propose the paradoxical effect of construal level on individual job performance through a positive mediating effect of problem-solving and a negative mediating effect of task implementation. Moreover, drawing on the insights of person-environment fit, we further investigate how team-level practices (i.e., leader vision communication and task specific reflexivity) that emphasize either big pictures or details can complement team members’ individual construal level, helping team members navigate the paradoxical effect of construal level. We propose that leader vision communication mitigates the positive effect of team member construal level on problem-solving, while team specific reflexivity mitigates the negative effect of construal level on task implementation. We tested the hypotheses among employees of multiple work teams in a large Chinese company. The results largely supported the hypothesized model. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for employee cognition and performance in work teams.
